"Religion was neither forced on the slavery nor accepted naively. For the enslaved, religion was a practice that provided encounters with God, revelations that revealed the presence of God, gifts that shined light on his glory and observed acts that were daily evidence of his way making—a faith engaged with the strength, signs, and mercy of his help."
This short-form, non-fiction work of 20 pages includes a new transcript of a 1932 Gullah prayer recorded by Lorenzo Dow Turner, archived in the Library of Congress online; describes features of the Gullah language and faith view, lists beatific visions in several Gullah spirituals and shares key Gullah folktales. The work cites many first person voices.
It briefly highlights a family's plantation holdings and cultural attitudes, enslaved religious life in urban Charleston, and features FSA photographs by Marion Post Wolcott and Dorothea Lange from the era of Turner's recording, which gives the work its title.